Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA Flock Contract

Who approved this?

Approved by Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on April 4, 2023.

The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council approved Resolution 2023-031 on April 4, 2023, leasing an automated license plate reader system from Flock Group Inc. The package covered 24 Falcon ALPR cameras plus 6 Wing software overlays on cameras the city already owned, 30 units in total. Pricing was 77,900 dollars for the first year and 69,000 dollars for each year after, on a 24 month agreement, with the city manager authorized to enter renewal agreements. The agenda coversheet records no vote tally, so no roll call is given. Monterey County Now reported that the original deployment totaled 30 cameras and that the agreement ran out on March 30, 2025. On February 4, 2025 the council voted 4 to 1 to replace it with a smaller contract capped at 30,000 dollars over two years, cutting the fleet to 6 cameras with room to add up to 6 more during the term, and Councilmember Jeff Baron voted no. An ad hoc committee reviewed the contract first and raised privacy objections along with pending Fourth Amendment litigation against the vendor. The 2023 resolution is logged as expired because its term ended and a different agreement took its place.